Transcript history of judaism

Judges, Kings, Prophets
• Israelites were nomadic people in the Sinai for 40
years
• Lead by people known as shofetim (translated as
judges)
• They were charismatic leaders that led Israel out of
times of crisis
Judges, Kings, Prophets
• Around 1000 BCE, the Hebrew people felt began to
want a king, God is reluctant
• Eventually gave them their first king Saul because of
the Philistine threat
Judges, Kings, Prophet
• Saul was succeeded by David
• Triumphs over the Philistines as a military leader and
establishes Jerusalem as the capital
• His son Solomon builds the temple that would serve
as the center of worship for the Jewish people
Judges, Kings, Prophets
• After the death of the Solomon, the kingdom divides
• The northern tribe is known as Israel and the southern
tribe with Jerusalem is Judah
• The end of the reign and era of the kings occurs soon
after this
Judges, Kings, Prophets
• The end of the reign of the kings was fortold by the
prophets
• Prophets can be one of two things in modern usage:
• People who speak on behalf of God
• People who tell the future
• In the Bible, Prophets normally receive God’s message and
deliver it to His people
Judges, Kings, Prophets
• In the Bible, Hebrew prophets warned of coming
crises based on infidelity to God and his covenants
• Prophetic tradition that is shared between Christianity
and Judaism
• Belief that God uses specific people to deliver his
message to people
Judges, Kings, Prophets
• Word of God through the prophets survive in the
Jewish Scriptures such as the Tanakh
• Prophetic writings are a combination of practical
advice, social criticism, and poetic beauty
The Exile
• The Jewish independence was altered by two military
conquests
• In 721 BCE, the Assyrians invaded and captured Israel
and its people
• In 586 BCE, the Babylonians captured Judah and
destroyed Solomon’s temple
The Exile
• Jewish leaders were captured and sent into exile in
Babylon
• This event is known as the Exile or the Babylonian
Captivity
• This would remain until in 538 BCE the Persian King
Cyrus the great freed them
The Exile
• With Solomon’s temple destroyed, the Jewish people needed
to find a new method of worship
• During the exile, places for congregational worship,
synagogues, were created
• Also began the studying of the scripture by people known as
rabbis
The Exile
• Rabbis tried to interpret scripture so the average
person could understand
• The period of the exile also called the development of
the of a belief in a divine kingship
• This was characterized by the Messiah, or “the
anointed one”
The Exile
• After the Babylonians were conquered by Cyrus, the
Jewish people were set free
• Under the leadership of the Ezra and Nehemiah, they
rebuilt the temple in 515 BCE
• During the Exile, the Jewish people evolved from a
tribal faith to a world faith
The Diaspora
• The Diaspora is the Greek word meaning “sowing of
the seed” or “dispersal”
• Term used to refer to the Jewish population living
outside of Israel
• By the third century BCE, most Jewish people lived in
the Diaspora
The Diaspora
• For the Jews that did not return from Exile they
created a new set of standards of faith
• Practical worship centered around the synagogue, and
scholarly analysis by the rabbis continued
• More Jewish communities started up around the
Mediterranean Sea
The Diaspora
• In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered much of
the known world
• At this time, the Jewish people fell under Greek
influence, known as the Hellenization
• The Jewish people embraced Greek culture and for
the first time translated the Scripture to Greek
The Diaspora
• The scripture, when re-translated, was called the
Septuagint
• This supported the Jewish community living in the
Diaspora for centuries
The Maccabean Revolt
• The next significant event was in 168 BCE
• The temple was converted into a shrine for Zeus by
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
• A group Maccabees used the general public
sentiments against the Greeks
The Maccabean Revolt
• By 164 BCE, the Maccabees regained control of the
temple and Jerusalem
• The temple was rededicated to God and the dynasty
endured until the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire
• In 64 BCE, the Roman General Pompey entered
Jerusalem as a campaign to expand the Roman Empire
• The Jewish people were subject to foreign domination
• Several distinct Jewish sects emerged, as well as a
sophistication of the Jewish belief
• This led to the emphasis of the coming of the
Messiah, the anointed one of God to deliver them
from opression
Rabbinic Judaism
• The Jewish people endured hardships under the
Romans which challenged their faith
• Taxation, unfair administration of justice, and Roman
control of the temple and priest was excessive
• In 66 CE, the Jewish people revolted and gained
power over the Temple Mount (The Second Temple)
Rabbinic Judaism
• In 70 CE, the Romans responded with force and a fivemonth siege occurred
• Jerusalem is taken, the temple is destroyed
• The temple was never rebuilt, and the only surviving
part was the Western Wall, which is a place of prayer
and devotion for the Jews today
Rabbinic Judaism
• After the Jewish rebellion was supressed, the Jewish
faith faced reformation or destruction
• Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai convinced the Romans to
allow the Sanhedrin to relocate into Yavneh
• In Yavneh they maintained their scriptures, wrote
commentaries on the law, and developed a Jewish
calendar
Rabbinic Judaism
• Rabbinic Judaism was ready to emerge after these
events
• The Sadduccees were a priestly caste without a
temple
• The Pharisees were in need of a restructuring
Rabbinic Judaism
• The old priests were replaced by Rabbis, synagogues
became the central places of worship
• Prayer practices, which were part of temple practices
became home and synagogue practices
Rabbinic Judaism
• The most significant contribution to the rabbinic
movement was the Judaism of Dual laws
• They were found in the written Torah, the interpretive
tradition of the Mishnah, and the Talmud later
• The rabbis eventually compiled a substantial body of
commentary on the Bible known as the Midrash
• The Midrash looks at puzzling Biblical situations and
poses explanations for these problems
Rabbinic Judaism
• Rabbinic interpretation was extended to the law
• The rabbis, through continuous studying could write
commentaries on the law
• By the middle Ages, Judaism had established deep
intellectual and spiritual roots